White House Resists Push to Stop Deportations, Lawmakers Say

April 5 (Bloomberg) -- The White House is urging lawmakers
to back away from a campaign led by Hispanic Democrats to block
deportations involving U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants,
a move that risks antagonizing Latino voters crucial to
President Barack Obama’s re-election.

Several members of Congress who were scheduled to attend a
March 31 news conference on the issue said administration
officials contacted them to voice concern about their
participation. Until U.S. immigration law is overhauled, the
lawmakers say, Obama should use his executive power to protect
families facing deportation or separation because at least one
parent is an illegal immigrant.

“The staffers that are attached to us, the liaisons, they
transmitted some concern,” said Representative Mike Honda of
California, a former chairman of the Congressional Asian
Pacific American Caucus, referring to the White House
legislative affairs office. “They would have loved us not to
have gone to the press conference.”

Honda, a Japanese-American, attended with other officials,
including Asian and black lawmakers, even after getting a call,
because it’s “not only about Hispanics,” he said. “I want to
broaden that so people don’t think just brown.”

At least three Democrats -- Representatives Honda, Judy
Chu of California and Keith Ellison of Minnesota -- said they
were contacted about the event. Representatives Yvette Clarke
of New York and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who, like Ellison,
are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, were scheduled
to attend and didn’t, according to their offices. Neither
Clarke nor Lee could be reached for comment.

‘Lessen the Pain’

“Not everybody who usually shows up, showed up,” Honda
said.

The absences were noted by members of the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus. “I heard some people got called,” said
Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva, a former president of the
caucus. “I didn’t.”

The lawmakers are asking the White House “to make some
administrative remedies to lessen the pain,” Grijalva said.
“They see that as politically not healthy for them.”

Offering relief to illegal immigrants through executive
fiat, and not legislation, could anger voters worried about the
estimated 11.2 million undocumented residents in the U.S. It
may also undermine Obama’s argument that he favors a
comprehensive immigration overhaul through Congress.

No Legal Authority

“We regularly reach out to lawmakers to discuss
immigration reform,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
“Our focus continues to be on building bipartisan consensus
around a legislative path that can produce comprehensive
reform.”

The administration argues that it doesn’t have the legal
authority to exempt certain immigrant categories from the law.

“With respect to the notion that I can just suspend
deportations through executive order, that’s just not the
case,” Obama said at a March 28 town hall sponsored by the
Univision television network. “There are laws on the books
that Congress has passed.”

Lawmakers, led by Illinois Representative Luis Gutierrez,
the first Hispanic member of Congress to endorse Obama for
president in 2007, called the news conference last week to
announce a 20-city tour to highlight the effect “our broken
immigration system” can have in splitting up families. The
tour began last weekend, with rallies in Providence, Rhode
Island and Boston.

Dream Act

They’re also seeking help for those who would have been
covered by the White House-backed Dream Act, which passed the
House last year and was blocked in the Senate. It would provide
permanent residency to college graduates and military veterans
who arrived in the U.S. as children illegally.

With that legislation facing opposition in the new
Republican-controlled House, some Democrats are urging Obama to
stop deportation orders through administrative means.

“We want him to exercise the discretion that he already
has,” said Gutierrez.

As of 2008, there were 4 million children in the U.S. who
were citizens yet had at least one parent who wasn’t, according
to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

“You don’t have to deport them, Mr. President, you can
parole them in place,” Gutierrez said, previewing the argument
he will make with Obama when they meet later this month to
discuss immigration issues. “The goal is to say that the young
people in the Dream Act should be paroled in place.”

Stop Expelling Talent

In his State of the Union address in January, Obama vowed
to press for immigration reform while insisting he would need
Republican support. Without mentioning the Dream Act by name,
he said, “Let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young
people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses,
and further enrich this nation.”

Hispanic voters played a key role in helping Obama get
elected in 2008, giving him 67 percent of their support,
according to Pew.

The challenge for Democrats in 2012 will be to keep those
voters energized, as polls show their support for the party has
softened, said Matt Barreto, a pollster at the University of
Washington in Seattle.

A February survey by Latino Decisions, a research center
focusing on Hispanic voting patterns, showed that 52 percent of
registered Latino voters thought Democrats were doing a “good
job” of reaching out to Hispanics, compared with 18 percent
for Republicans.

‘Significant Backlash’

“The Democrats are certainly doing a better job than
Republicans,” said Barreto, “but that’s only 52 percent for
the Democrats. That’s the bad news.”

“If it’s perceived that the White House is trying to hush
up people for standing up for immigrants, that could have a
significant backlash in 2012,” he said. “Latinos are not
going to vote Republican for sure, but they aren’t going to be
enthusiastic for the Democrats.”

Some lawmakers are also questioning what they perceive as
a faulty political calculus by the White House and said they
would continue to argue for an administrative fix for children
of undocumented workers.

“There were calls made to us, but I decided to
participate,” said Chu. “They have a disagreement with us.
They feel that this is perhaps is not the direction for them.”